


Free Falling

by thequietrecluse



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe - High School, Beach House, Beaches, Fluff, Gen, If you squint you can see the markhyuck, Kinda, NCT127 are implied, No Plot/Plotless, Platonic Relationships, Summer Vacation, i wrote this instead of working, if you squint Johnny becomes Mark's brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-23 18:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20344768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequietrecluse/pseuds/thequietrecluse
Summary: It was easy to forget your worries at the beach.





	Free Falling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [humeurvagabonde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/humeurvagabonde/gifts).

> Hello!  
This is a birthday gift for my lovely twin. We live an ocean apart, and sending packages is hard (and expensive) so I wrote this for her. I was the one who introduced her to NCT... by making her guess NCT2018's names. It was kinda mean (especially considering she gave me ASTRO to guess) but she fell in love with them so... all's well that ends well?
> 
> Iris, if you're reading this, I love you. I'm sorry if I'm a little absent today because I'm going back to college, but I promise I love you lots and I will spam your phone the moment I'm free.

It was easy to forget your worries at the beach. How could you not, with the sound of waves and laughter and music all around you, with the feeling of hot sun and cool water on your skin, with the slight smell of salt in the air? A trip to the beach was better than alcohol or drugs.

At least, that was Mark’s opinion.

His family owned a beach house that they went down to every summer. It was a four hour drive from their actual house, but it felt like an entirely different world. The town, despite being by the beach, was pretty small; most people drove through it to get to the more popular beach cities. But coming from a big city, Mark loved the simplicity of a small beach town, one where most of the houses were lived in for most of the year, where everyone knew everyone. Mark had his own life there: different friends, different activities, different memories. The beach felt like a world caught in a bubble.

Mark could feel his leg shaking uncontrollably as their beach house came into view. They’d had it for as long as he could remember, a small cottage that looked like it was stuck in the 1980s. The couches were an antiquated floral design, and the TV was large and bulky. Heck, they didn’t even have Internet here. Not that it mattered; Mark and his brother spent most of their time out of the house anyway.

Mark couldn’t hide his impatience as he and his family settled in, unpacking the car and turning on all the utilities. His phone was blowing up with messages from his friends, but he was stuck helping his dad clean the kitchen and then helping his mom make their beds. His parents were fully aware of what they were doing if the amused smiles and fleeting looks they shared were anything to go by.

The moment their parents let them go, Mark and his brother stopped pretending to be patient and raced out of the house, only taking the time to grab their phones and their wallets before grabbing their bikes. The two of them split off quickly, Mark towards the pier and his brother towards the park. They have separate friends and separate interests, after all.

Not even ten minutes later, Mark locked his bike on one of the bike stands, nearly tripping over his parked bike in his haste to meet his friends. He scrambled up the steps onto the familiar wooden pier, eyes searching for his friends. Then he grinned. Gathered around a bench, a large cup of lemonade being passed between them were his friends.

“Bā!” Mark yelled loudly, uncaring of the strange looks he got from passing tourists. The locals, all too familiar with them, just rolled their eyes fondly.

Without thinking, Chenle replied, “Bā!” before jolting and looking around, a toothy smile blooming on his face when he finally found Mark. “MARK LEE!”

Mark ran towards them, getting swamped with hugs before he even got to the bench. The loud chatter of his friends drowned out the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach and the general loudness that came with a pier. Mark couldn’t even see anything, too crushed by the multiple bodies.

“It’s so good to see you guys,” Mark said once everyone had pulled away from the group hug. (Jaemin was the last to pull away of course, but Jaemin was the clingiest of them all, so Mark wasn’t particularly surprised.) “How have you guys been?”

“Good,” Jisung grinned impishly. “School’s boring as ever. Can we go to the sweets shop already? I’m craving some fudge.”

“Jisung, you  _ live  _ here,” Jeno reminded him. “You could’ve gotten fudge whenever you liked.”

The youngest shook his head. “It’s better in the summer,” he insisted. “Besides, I can explain buying several pounds of fudge if it’s for you.”

Everyone shrugged, not wanting to get into another argument about how Jisung was usually the one who ate all the fudge anyway.

“So what’s on the agenda for this summer?” Renjun asked when they began absentmindedly strolling towards the sweets shop. “Other than the usual, of course.”

“We should go to some more parties,” Jeno suggested. “I’ve always wanted to go to those bonfire parties our high school throws.”

“Your high school throws bonfire parties?” Mark asked. “What haven’t I heard of it before?”

Jaemin shrugged. “Local thing, I guess. But maybe we should. We could introduce you guys to our other friends.”

“You have friends outside of us?” Chenle asked.

“Yeah, I thought you spent the rest of the year dying to see us again,” Renjun mocked.

Jeno shoved the older playfully. “Hey, it’s not like that,” he said, exasperated. “Let’s just go?”

“Je-no-jam,” Jaemin teased, throwing an arm roughly around the other. “C’mon guys, let’s go to the sweets shop before the baby throws a fit.”

“I’m not a baby!” Jisung protested as they started walking.

“But you will throw a tantrum,” Renjun retorted.

Mark smiled. He missed this.

  
  
  


The sweets shop was the same as ever: striped awnings, candy pink walls, tile floors, and rows upon rows of candy. Jisung headed straight for the displays, where the fudge was, while everyone else scattered to get their favorite candies. Mark found the salt water taffy section easily, the colorful candies calling to him from behind their wax wrappings. He grabbed a bag, carefully picking out an equal number of each color. Behind him, he could hear Jisung rattling off the list of fudge flavors he wanted, while Jaemin grabbed every type of chocolate the store had and Jeno attempted to stop Chenle from buying everything and Renjun from encouraging Chenle to do it anyway. So entranced by the sounds of his friends and excited to kick off his summer, he barely noticed someone walking up to him.

“Is the salt water taffy here any good?” Mark glanced up, belatedly realizing the boy in front of him. “Just asking, because every beach town claims to have the best salt water taffy.”

Mark fumbled for a moment before replying. “I’d like to think our salt water taffy is pretty good. Can’t really tell the difference though, to be honest.”

The boy laughed. “Way to represent your town.” He stuck his hand out. “Donghyuck Lee. Nice to meet you.”

“Mark Lee,” he shook the other’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  
  
  


Mark and the others had been friends for practically their entire life; twelve years at least. They’d met every summer since they were five years old. They knew each other better than some of Mark’s friends at school. And yet, Donghyuck fit in with them like he’d always been there. It was both startling and reassuring. Their group felt more... complete, somehow. Mark didn’t know why, but he had stopped questioning it. What was the point of knowing why if he could just enjoy it instead?

They’d planned to go to the beach, but a sudden rainstorm ruined their plans. So instead, they went to Chenle’s beach house for a movie marathon and sleepover. Chenle lived on the beach, so everyone brought their swimsuits in the off chance that the storm cleared out so that they could go to the beach. 

“Hey, you made it!” Chenle cheered, hugging Mark tightly before practically pulling him inside. “We just ordered some pepperoni pizzas and we’re watching the Star Wars movies.”

“Sounds good,” Mark agreed as he walked down the hall into the living room, everyone yelling out greetings from the adjacent kitchen where they were making popcorn. Well, Renjun was making popcorn. Jeno was bugging Jaemin, who was teasing Jisung, while Donghyuck laughed. Mark simply watched them fondly. He loved his brother and their shared friends, but there was something different about hanging out with people who were all closer to his age. He didn’t feel like a kid, didn’t feel like he had to act more mature, didn’t feel like his problems mattered less in comparison to the others.

“What’s that look?” Donghyuck broke him out of his thoughts.

“Oh, it’s sappy hours for Mark Lee,” Renjun teased. “Don’t cry this time.”

Mark spluttered. “I didn’t cry!”

_ “You  _ cried,” Chenle retorted.

“Yeah, stop projecting,” Jisung teased.

Renjun opened his mouth to snap at them, but Mark interrupted, loudly declaring, “Is the popcorn done? Let’s go to the living room and start the marathon!”

He had to repeat himself several times and also stop Renjun from trying to grab the two youngest in a headlock, but hey, it was the thought that counted.

  
  


By the time the credits of the last movie appeared on the screen, everyone was fast asleep except for Mark and Donghyuck. The others would probably demand to rewatch the movie again, but Mark didn’t mind.

“Tired?” Mark asked, startling the other.

“You startled me,” Donghyuck whined. Mark could feel the playful glare the younger was sending him even in the dim light.

“You wanna watch another movie?” Mark asked.

A pause, and then. “Not really. But I’m not tired, either.”

“Wanna talk, then?”

“Sounds good,” Mark heard movement, maybe Donghyuck shrugging or getting comfortable or something. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I dunno,” Mark shrugged. “How are you liking the beach?”

Donghyuck chuckled, laugh noticeably loud in the quiet room. “Really?  _ That’s  _ what you want to talk about?”

Mark sputtered. “I don’t know, you caught me off guard! What did you want me to say?”

“Something less stupid,” Donghyuck retorted without any heat. Mark rolled his eyes, huffing petulantly, but not saying anything. After a few moments, the younger whispered, “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m really grateful for you guys.”

“What do you mean?” Mark replied, voice equally as soft.

“You know how I’m moving, right?” Donghyuck asked. Mark hummed in acknowledgement. “I was so mad because I had to uproot my life and start over and worry about making new friends and adjusting to a new high school and a new city and everything. This vacation felt like a consolation gift until I met you and the others. This summer has been amazing though. I think I needed this vacation. I needed to meet you guys.”

Mark smiled. “Now you know how I feel.”

“What do you mean?” Donghyuck shifted some more, and when he glanced over, Mark could almost make out his face staring him down.

He shrugged, trying to phrase what he wanted to say. “High school’s supposed to be the best four years of your life, right? The formative years of our lives. But I’ve never felt like that. The summers have always been the best part. Teenagers do wild stuff during high school, yeah, but summers are when they go wild. What they do when they have all the time in the world is what makes them who they are. And I’m always grateful for my friends, because I get to make lasting memories and have fun and never have to worry about the cops arresting me for doing something stupid because I was bored.”

“Wow, poetic.” Donghyuck teased fondly. “Can’t imagine what a bored Mark Lee without his friends would do that could get him arrested.”

“You never know,” Mark wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, although it probably didn’t look as smooth as he intended. The other probably couldn’t even see it anyway.

“I can’t even see you and I know you’re making a weird face.”

Mark sighed in mock exasperation, a smile on his lips. He loved his friends.

Yes, even Donghyuck.

  
  
  


The gods were clearly in their favor as the clear, bright sun streamed into the living room, ruthlessly waking all the boys at sunrise. They had groaned at the rude awakening until they realized how beautiful it looked--and  _ was _ \--outside. They’d rushed to throw their swimsuits on and pack for the beach and raced out the door, whooping and cheering. Mark, Jaemin and Renjun had asked (forced in Renjun’s case) everyone to put on sunscreen before letting them run wild, escaping to the ocean and diving headfirst into the waves. Mark and Renjun stay back to set up their spots, using their shoes to weigh down the corners of the blanket and erecting the umbrella. Only then did the two oldest run to join the others, ignoring the freezing cold water as they started a splash war with the others. It was definitely too early to be at the beach and the sun wasn’t quite hot enough to justify freezing to death, but they didn’t mind. This was their day.

“Get out of your head and play with us, Mark!”

Mark shrieked when his feet suddenly left the ground, though his arms automatically moved to wrap around Donghyuck’s neck and shoulders. “Put me  _ down  _ Donghyuck!” he yelled without any real authority or heat.

“Not until you stop thinking and join us! Live in the present!” Donghyuck screamed back, unceremoniously throwing the older into the waves.

Mark floundered and spluttered, scrambling to his feet. Everyone laughed at the wet dog look on his face. He plastered a mock angry expression on his face. “Donghyuck, come here.”

Donghyuck squealed, darting out of the water and down the beach, closely followed by Mark. He chased the younger until he couldn’t hear the others anymore, until Donghyuck stopped to catch his breath and Mark couldn’t stop himself in time, bowling him over.

“Geez, way to make me eat sand,” Donghyuck grumbled, shoving the other off and wiping the sand off his body.

“Sorry,” Mark apologized, helping him clean up. “Let’s go back, okay?”

Everyone was already back at the little spot Mark and Renjun had set up, wrapped in towels and eating watermelon. Jaemin approached them, wrapping them both firmly in fluffy towels and sitting them down and shoving the container of watermelon in their faces. Mark grinned.

He loved his summer family.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: @thequietrecluse
> 
> This is my first plotless fic! ...Is this a reason to celebrate?  
I have a few extra scenes I might write when I have time... but I say that about a lot of my stories, so I can't tell you when I'll get around to it. I'll try, though!


End file.
